Net international reserves at the Central Bank of Egypt have declined by 4.38% month-on-month at the end of May

Newsletter

08 Jun 2022

First, net international reserves (NIR) at the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) have declined by 4.38% month-on-month (MoM) at the end of May, registering 35.495 billion USD, down from 37.123 billion USD at the end of April. The CBE attributed the decline in its NIR to 2 billion USD external debt repayments carried out in May including payment of Egyptian Eurobond coupons issued by the Ministry of Finance. The bank also ascribed the decline to principal and interest payments to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in addition to others external debt obligations. “These dues were expected, fully accounted for, and were repaid in a timely manner,” the CBE commented. Furthermore, the CBE maintained that its international reserves are sufficient to cover five months of merchandise imports. (Arab Finance)

Second, HSBC Egypt has launched a 1 billion EGP technology entrepreneurs lending program for high growth tech entrepreneurs seeking international investments.
The program serves tech companies with plans for expansion in Egypt in sectors of fintech, e-commerce, retail and mobility, health, education and software. HSBC Egypt announced that it will give priority to companies with sustainable development integrated in their plans, in recognition of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP-27), which is set to be organized in Sharm El-Sheikh in November. Furthermore, the bank’s new technology entrepreneurs lending program will give special focus on companies with differentiated B2B business models, revenue traction, and funding from credible investors. Businesses participating in the project will be supported by a dedicated team of relationship managers and mentors of HSBC experts. (Arab Finance)
Acting Minister of Health Khaled Abdel Gaffar has witnessed the signing of a cooperation protocol with AstraZeneca under the title “Health System Sustainability and Resilience”, the Middle East News Agency (MENA) reported on June 6th.
The protocol paves the way for healthcare system governance and human resources training, in addition to improving public health, social determinants, and ecological sustainability, Spokesperson of the Ministry of Health Hossam Abdel Ghaffar said. The protocol’s mechanisms comprise transfer of expertise required to upgrade the healthcare system and ensure its sustainability and resilience to provide better health services to citizens, he added. Founded in 1999, AstraZeneca is a British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company produces and distributes medicines worldwide. (Arab Finance)
Moving to our EGX and companies talks, Vortex Energy, a leading renewable energy investments manager in Europe owned by the private equity division of EFG Hermes Holding (HRHO), has invested around 222 million EUR of equity capital in Spanish independent integrated renewable player Ignis to-date.
This investment comes under the terms of Vortex Energy’s partnership with Ignis that was initiated in 2021. The company is set to begin the preparations of a 500-megawatt (MW) site in due course, with Ignis’ management in active talks over more than 500 MW of bilateral power purchase agreements (PPAs) with blue-chip and off-takers. (Al Mal)
Insurance technology startup Nice Deer has secured $1 million in a pre-seed funding round led by DisrupTech Ventures.
The fund will help Nice Deer provide digital healthcare solutions to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) including healthcare saving accounts, which will give their employees access to healthcare insurance and offer them a variety of services. Founded in early 2022, Nice Deer is a healthcare technology startup operating in Egypt. Nice Deer Platform runs different business lines including insurance and healthcare. DisrupTech is an Egyptian leading fintech venture capital firm focusing on investing in early stage fintech and fintech-enabled startups. (WAYA)
Mountain View and GlobalCorp for Financial Services have signed 450 million EGP leasing facility agreement with a lease tenor of seven years.
The leasing agreement will be used to fund Mountain View’s construction activities and support the company’s growth plans in order to keep its foothold in the Egyptian market. Established in 2015, GlobalCorp is an Egyptian non-banking financial services company engaged in offering financial and operating leases and factoring solutions to corporates and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). (Arab Finance)
Egyptian healthcare company Elevate has announced that it obtained the approval of the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) to launch financial leasing activity.
The announcement comes in the context of Elevate’s efforts to add non-bank financial services (NBFS) to its activities. Consequently, Elevate was restructured into a capital company under the name of Elevate Capital. The new financial leasing activity will be headed by veteran financier Mohamed Hassaan. Elevate will operate in capital expenditures (CAPEX) lending, with a focus on financial leasing of buildings, vehicles, machinery, production lines, real estate, and industrialization. The company will also engage in leasing services for agricultural technology businesses and micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). (Al Mal)
Also, the renewables-focused investment leading company is set to maintain its strategy to bolster the growth of Ignis by investing nearly 46 million EUR of equity in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2022, in addition to another amount of 176 million EUR in Q1 2021.
Vortex Energy has made its initial investment in Ignis in Q4 2021, where Ignis has been implementing its ambitious growth strategy with more than 1 gigawatts (GW) of its Spanish portfolio that obtained all key permits to be ready-to-build (RTB) status. Moreover, the company has succeeded in extending its international footprint to about 11 GW of solar, wind, and battery storage pipeline outside of Spain. (Al Mal)
Emaar Misr for Development (EMFD) has launched The Lake District in Mivida, its new landmark in New Cairo.
The Lake District features a 10,000-square-meter (sqm) lake, one of Egypt’s largest lakes, as well as a lively dancing fountain. The new landmark also offers a wide range of activities for families, such as retail, a sports arena, and a kid’s park, along with kayaking for the first time in New Cairo. Providing an entertaining experience for all family members of all age groups, the Lake District is the newest edition to Downtown Mivida, hosting various dining and shopping outlets including the Boulevard, in addition to high-powered work environments like My Park, the Place, and Mivida Business Park. It also hosts international schools including Repton School and Europa Schule Newu Kairo (ESNK). (Al Mal)
Egyptian Gulf Bank (EG Bank) (EGBE) posted a 23% year-on-year (YoY) increase in consolidated net profit after tax for the first quarter (Q1) of 2022.
The bank’s consolidated net profit after tax stood at 193.75 million EGP in Q1 2022, compared to a profit of 157.78 million EGP in the same quarter of 2021. Earnings per share (EPS) rose by 21% YoY in Q1 2022 to 0.46 EGP from EGP 0.38. It is worth noting that the bank recorded a consolidated profit excluding minority interest of 695.336 million EGP in 2021, up from 624.882 million EGP in 2020. EG Bank is engaged in the provision of corporate, retail, and investment banking services through a network of 16 branches located across Egypt. (EGX)
Bank of Alexandria, a subsidiary of Intesa Sanpaolo Group, has entered into an agreement with financial market data provider Refinitiv to adopt its Electronic Trading (ET) solution to power the bank’s businesses and bolster its presence in local and global markets.
Refinitiv’s Electronic Trading platform distributes rates of foreign exchange (FX) rates via a single system that enables trading desks and treasury departments to manage price streams effectively. The adoption of Refinitiv’s electronic trading allows us to distribute reliable and live prices to our corporate clients using an electronic platform with straight-through and efficient operation processing. (EGX)